BIRD 2026 Finals Streamed as Elite Chase-the-Ace Decides Tiny Whoop Champion

A televised, high-drama finish capped BIRD 2026 as the sixth annual Birmingham International Race Days concluded with the Elite title decided in a final Chase the Ace. The weekend brought international Tiny Whoop pilots to Birmingham UK for qualifying on 31 January and finals on 1 February, and it mattered because the format and production pushed drone racing further into spectator-friendly live sport.

Organisers staged competitions across Hobbyist, Advanced and Elite classes with a double-elimination finals format. The event adhered to a tight schedule: Group A, B and C qualifying ran from 09:00, 12:00 and 15:00 on Saturday with a pilots party that evening, then Sunday opened with a 09:00 Hobbyist warm-up followed by class finals at 09:30, 12:30 and 15:30 and an award ceremony at 17:00. Pilots prepared on the starting line with warm-up packs while commentators counted down for the race director to kick off. "So, I think we are now at 9:00. Our pilots are going to soon be starting their warm-up packs. So, we just wait for the uh race director to kick them off with some warm-up packs. That is where the pilots will be able to get themselves ready, get themselves settled [...] finals, we have these pilots up on the starting line."

Qualifying produced narrative moments that fed the finals. Japan's Yuki "absolutely dominated" in early runs, and then King Joshy "snatched that top qualifying spot from him" in the last group, creating a tidy rivalry that carried into Sunday heats. Promotion and preview copy had flagged Latvia's ReeFPV and 2025 champion Nightwing from the United States as contenders, situating BIRD 2026 amid an international field that includes pilots from Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and beyond.

BIRD 2026 introduced a team competition that lets groups of up to three pilots aggregate points, with optional fancy dress earning extra team points and prize opportunities. Racer tickets had been sold from 7 September 2025 at 12:00 UTC and an iFPV account was required for entry, reflecting the event's mix of grassroots hobbyist access and professional staging.

Production and broadcast quality elevated the weekend. The finals stream was produced by Fellow Productions, with commentators explicitly thanking Mark Rackcliffe for months of behind-the-scenes work: "Really appreciate your uh contributions to the event. And of course, bringing up the live stream here, letting you guys at home and across the world see what's going on at Bird. It is fellow productions. Thank you very much, Mark Rackcliffe. We really appreciate all the effort you've gone into cuz it's not just today. It is months of work and preparation of all the screens that you see, all the overlays, pilot photos, all the data that goes on behind the scenes. So, really appreciate you for all the effort you've done."

Sponsors underwrote the event at multiple levels, with Minifigs Me and Menace RC at Gold level, Happy Model, ViFly, HQ Prop and Radio Master at Silver level, and supporter sponsors including T-Hobby, HGLRC, Caddx, Beta FPV, Gemfan, VCI Hobby, the British Drone Racing Association, the British Model Flyers Association, Speedy Pizza Drones, Tiny Whoop, UK Drone Soccer, Fellow Productions and NewBeeDrone.

BIRD 2026 reinforced Tiny Whoop racing's dual identity as both community festival and competitive spectacle. With televised Chase the Ace drama, international rivalries sharpening and team tactics entering the scoring mix, the weekend sets the tone for pilots and sponsors as the 2026 season unfolds and league calendars respond to what fans around the world just watched.